Developing Functional Life-On-Chip Microsystems for Understanding Cancer Biology

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Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the developed world, costing billions of dollars in health care costs in Canada alone. Major barriers to progress in cancer research include the lack of useful and informative experimental methods for studying cancer biology in the lab, and lack of tools for choosing the right therapy for the patient in the clinic. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new, innovative tools and methods that can change our approach to cancer research and clinical therapy. The primary goal of my research program is to create a new class of experimental tools for biologists and clinicians called "life-on-chip" (LOC) microsystems, which can mimic cell, tissue, and organ behavior and function in miniaturized chips that can fit on the palm of your hand. This new class of tools will significantly add to our experimental toolkit by providing improved resemblance to actual living tissues and organs while eliminating the need for animal testing. To develop and advance these LOC microsystems, my research program will combine expertise in both engineering and biology fields, employing the principles of fluid dynamics, mechanical engineering design, microfabrication, computational methods, cell biology, and advanced microscopy. My proposed research plan focuses on the development and characterization of three new LOC microsystems that will offer new ways to study how cancer cells communicate with neighboring cell types, how blood vessels develop in tumors, and how cancer cells adhere to different tissues during metastatic spread. The research will lead to novel engineering design concepts and principles, and create new knowledge on how to engineer optimal LOC microsystems for studying cancer biology.